1603-11994

This investment supports Oral Health Kansas to continue in its role as lead convenor of the Kansas Oral Health Connections, a collective impact model focused on improving health outcomes across the lifespan, building a statewide network of advocates, and leveraging shared resources among core partners to reduce social and economic disparities in Kansas. Oral Health Kansas will coordinate the work of four core partners: Oral Health Kansas (OHK), Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved (KAMU), Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment Bureau of Oral Health (BOH), and Kansas Head Start Association (KHSA) to address each of the Oral Health 2020 goals along the lifespan and engage non-traditional stakeholders as they collectively work towards health equity and economic justice. Specifically, through this proposal, Kansas Oral Health Connections will convene and support a Perinatal/Infant/Toddler oral health workgroup in order to develop a system and strategies to increase the number of dental referrals and services provided for pregnant and new mothers; conduct an Oral Health Equity & Community Engagement Summit in order to expand and support the Kansas School Sealant Program which represents a partnership between KAMU and BOH; leverage new and existing advocacy channels and messaging strategies to both encourage the use of existing dental benefits in KanCare and expand services offered by engaging the state legislature and managed care organizations; collect and analyze state oral health data to inform policy development and resource deployment; increase state capacity and willingness to support integrated person-centered dental healthcare; and increase public awareness of the value of oral health and the challenges in maintaining oral health, especially those related to economic disparities in the community. This proposal builds upon last's grant during which the core partners established a system and foundation of continuous communication, a common agenda, and shared metrics. Together, and through heavy reflection informed by last year's activities and the state of oral health in Kansas, the core group has reached consensus to use the pursuit of economic justice as the under-girding principle of this work. $585,982 will be used to support the implementation and development of the objectives listed in the proposal by the core group and allied partners, marketing and educational materials to engage new stakeholders, staff travel and meeting expenses; and other administrative costs associated with the project's implementation. This proposal aligns with the Oral Health 2020 Goal of improving the public perception of the value of oral health to overall health and the target that oral health is increasingly included in health dialogue and public policy.